The National tribune., 1887-10-13
ENCAMPMENT ECHOES.
ReeOlIeetiOns Of the Great Week in St. Louis.

RecOlIectiOns Of the Great Week In st. Louis.
One Of the most striking figures in the En-
campment was that of ex-Gov. r. B. Alger. of
Michigan. Tall, slender, erect. sodierly in
bearing, and with a face of marked power, he
attracted unusual attention. He was worthy
of it, for among all that notable gathering of
men of eminent ability there was none with a
better-rounded career than his. He entered
the army at the outbreak of the war as sub
altern, and rose to the command OF a fighting
cavalry regiment, which helped greatly Co win
laurels for Custer, Fitzpatrick and Sheridan.
At the conclusion of the war he embarked in
business, and the same sterling qualities which
made him a superb Colonel of cavalry won him
brilliant success in civil life. tie has accumu-
lated great wealth and received high political
hOnOrs In the latter line there is nothing that
the people of Michigan are not eager 70 give to
him. With all this be is one of the best of COM
rades, and genial, apprOachahle gentleman at
all times. There was a strong pressure for him
for COmmander-in-C Chief, but he resolutely re-
fused to allow his name 10 be used. The neg
lect of his great business enterprises which the
acceptance of such position would have iu-
yolyed, would have cost him tens Of thousands
of dollars, but this was not the main reason.
lie has plans for the education of his children
and for the extension of his business operations
which he could not carry out and devote the
time to the COmmander-in-Ch iefship which
the position required
Gen. Byron 8. Pierce, Michigan's fighting
represen tative in the lighting Third Corps, was
the center of pleasant groups of comrades The
General apparently grows no older from year
to year His eye is as bright, his smile as con-
tagiOus and his step as light as ever.
What a superb speaker aud parliamentarian
Corp1 Tanner is He has always won the adj
miration of the comrades by his splendid bear
ing on the rOstFum and in the Eneampment,
but he never did better than in this Eneamp-
ment He was the peer Of the strongest debat-
ers on the floor, and never missed point in
the most complicated parliamentary tangie.
even when such men rs ex-Vice- President Haml
| lin and ex-Speaker Keifer were his antagonists.
Wherever Senator Henderson appeared q
group OF warm admirers gathered abOut him.
Magnetic, genuine a deep thinker, and an at
tractive speaker, he has as many ardent friends
as any man in the Order.
"cLAIM YOUR BAGGAGE"
Among the minor miseries of the Eneamp-
meut was the trouble about getting ones bag
gage With such mountains of trunks as the
baggage-cars disgOrged checks were out of the
question. 1t would have taken all the checks
of dozen of the largest roads IN the country
| to have served the visitors. The only recourse,
| therefore, was to the od-fashiOned way before
| checks were invented" stand around and
! claim your baggage" 1t was very trying to
the patience of passengers and trainmen to
hunt for one particular trunk or valise
/ through pile as high as an Illinois barn, and
many comrades had to go without their bag
| gage for two or three days. Where they were
| accompanied by their wives and daughters the
misery was great. There is no suffering like
| that of a woman on a visit who cannot get at
/ her trunk and things" But good temper and
| kindly forbearance on the part of both veter-
ans and railroad people reduced the annoyance
/ as Diueh IA possible.